Wednesday, October 1, 2008

No Fuss Focaccia

Usually on Tuesday nights I have class but my professor came down with a cold so she had to cancel class last night. That is good news for me, it means that I got to stay home and make a nice dinner for my husband and I. Unfortunately my husband had to work late and didn't get home until around 8:00. I didn't want to make something really heavy so I decided that soup and paninis would be a great dinner. I have some whole wheat sandwich bread in the house but I couldn't see myself making delicious paninis with boring ole sandwich bread. Hummm, guess I need to make bread. ;)

I found this recipe on King Arthur Flour's website, it had a couple of good reviews so I went ahead and made it. This is by far the easiest yeast bread recipe that I have ever made. There is virtually no work involved. No kneading, no shaping, definitely no fuss. I have made a traditional focaccia before and it was amazing. I can't say that this was as good as Peter Reinhart's recipe but for being done in about two hours it was pretty darn good, especially made into a chicken bacon and ranch panini.

What is that delicious looking soup you ask yourself. It is this wonderful Baked Potato-and-Broccoli Soup. I have been hooked ever since I first made it last year.

Directions1) Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan, and drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil in the bottom.2) Combine all of the ingredients, and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 60 seconds.3) Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan, cover the pan, and let it rise at room temperature for 60 minutes, till it's become puffy.4) While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F.5) Gently poke the dough all over with your index finger. 6) Drizzle it lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with pizza seasoning, and/or the dried herbs of your choice, if desired.7) Bake the bread till it's golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. 8) Remove it from the oven, wait 5 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yum, looks great! At first I thought your soup was the same I made last night, sweet corn and pepper, until I read the post. I love paninis and would love to get a press, but I don't know if I'd use it enough...Thanks for the recipe!